User blog:NyricTheDeceiver/Lore Sheet: The Land of Beodon
Welcome to the Land of Beodon, where all is not as it seems. A world teeming with magic, fantastic races, guilds, and kingdoms, Beodon is a world of intrigue and adventure. What are these strange artifice constructs, hidden deep beneath the ground? What madness does the Guild of Draoc speak? What are the aims of the dark cults that flourish in the shadows? Do worlds truly lie beyond Beodon? Is the world truly teetering on the brink of war? History: The Daoine Republic of Sural: The Kingdom of Najand: Prominent Factions: Magic: Intermediate Concepts of Magic': *Mages perform acts of magic through spells, which is a term for the constructs of will that a mage creates. A spell, deemed a spell matrix in Applied Thaumaturgy, is a "will construct", a focused expression of power. Once again, mana/prana is psycho-reactive, bending to thoughts and emotions. The more powerful these thoughts and emotions, the more readily mana/prana can be manipulated. Spells/spell matrices are cognitive heuristics, mental shortcuts, for magical effects that efficient, quicker, though less potent than traditional ritual casting. **In theory, it operates as a quick rationalization for a magical effect the mage wishes to achieve. In practice, a mage visualizes an invisible geometric shape (or, solid in more complex cases), as the matrix of the spell. The mage then visualizes the intent of their effect within this matrix and supplies and shapes prana until it matches this intent. **Lack of focus results in a subpar matrix, from which minute amounts of prana can leak through. Most spell matrices are imperfect given the nature of mortal minds. **Prana overload of a simple matrix can destabilize it, or even destroy it completely. This is a crude form of dispelling. **Glyphs are a form of spell matrix that was perfected long before the advent of Applied Thaumaturgy. They are symbols of the First Tongue, the language of magic itself, and thereby represent intent when arranged in a certain order. **Enchanting is the art of placing a spell matrix onto an item or entity that enhances (enchants) or degrades (hexes). Spellcarving is the art of carving intricate patterns of glyphs onto something to achieve a myriad of effects when charged with mana, and is the primary form of enchanting used in the modern world. **Unstable emotions and thoughts lead to unstable spell matrices, which can destabilize a spell, cause it to go haywire, and lead to destructive consequences. The Laws That Govern: Although magic comes in many forms, they all follow the same laws, which are immutable and inescapable. Even gods and the Good Folk find themselves beholden to the rules of magic though it is worse in their case, for they are creatures of Ætheric energy given will and form. The laws of magic are as follows: Laws and Rules of Magic: *'The Spark of Magic:' All sapient beings with a soul possess the spark of magic deep within their soul. Those without a soul (excluding those who made pacts with their souls as payment) cannot perform magic, as the soul is the seat of the will. A soul allows a being to connect to the Worldsoul, and therefore, manipulate it. *'Equivalent Exchange:' Magic has a cost, always, and this cost is proportional to the action the mage wishes to perform. I.e., a mage uses a small amount of mana (or whatever the equivalent payment might be) to throw fire at his enemies, in comparison to using a massive amount of mana (or some other form of metaphysical payment) to rain down a firestorm. A cost will be paid, always. **Creation of matter/energy from nothingness is an impossibility. Transmutation of prana into physical matter or energy is possible and is the principle behind the creation of fireballs, streaks of lightning, and so on. Even the gods do not truly create, theirs is an advanced form of reality shaping that simply mimics true ''ex nihilo creation. *'True Names:' Each being, when it comes into existence, has its True Name etched into the Worldsoul. To learn a being's True Name is to learn how best to control it, for invoking its true name while casting a spell grants a mage greater metaphysical control over its existential structure. Spells are more devastating and can be cast from a distance. *'The First Tongue': The First Tongue is the language of the Gods and the original language of magic. Words spoken in this language are powerful and carry great metaphysical weight. A being's True Name must be spoken in The First Tongue to properly evoke it. *'The Law of Metaphysical Reinforcement': The more focused and pronounced your intent is on the physical plane, the same is in the Worldsoul. Simply put: Chanting, gestures, artifacts, or whatever sharpens your will, increases the potency of your spell. *'Law of Sympathy': 1) The strength of this connection is determined by the relevance of the contact. 2) Things of like nature call to one and pull on another. Affect one, and you can affect the other. **'The Rule of Binding:' Contracts forged in magic hold power over those involved. True magical contracts involve pooling the prana and will of those involved into a glyph which etches itself onto the skin of the contractors. Those involved are connected through a magical bond between their souls. To break a magically binding contract is to surrender oneself to the consequences proportional to the power pooled into the contract, which in some cases means risking death. *'Ætheric Entropy': Stored, unused mystical energy will undergo an energy transformation into heat. The greater the stored amount of energy, the greater the temperature. This can scale from a discomforting heat to spontaneous combustion depending on the cost of the dissipated spell. The rate at which the energy undergoes Ætheric Entropy is directly proportional to the amount stored. The more mana stored, the more quickly it destabilizes and transforms into heat. Limitations of Magic: *What a mage does not know, he cannot accomplish. *Mana is not inexhaustible. Draw too much and everything suffers. It takes time for the world to replenish mana. *A mage casting radius is limited by what they can perceive, lest they alter their perception with spells of clairvoyance or cast their spell from afar on a target using The Law of Sympathy to their advantage. *At a certain point, the cost needed to ascribe the appropriate metaphysical weight needed to perform an act of magic becomes so great that a mage cannot achieve it without ending their own lives in the process. Artifice and Draconic Relics: Technology from Magic